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Susan Pompeo's role as "first lady of the CIA" draws critics and defenders
Retweeted by David Fahrenthold: https://twitter.com/Fahrenthold
New: CIA Director Mike Pompeo’s wife uses offices at the agency’s headquarters and has staff to assist her in volunteer work.
Link to tweet
National Security
Susan Pompeo’s role as ‘first lady of the CIA’ draws critics and defenders
By Shane Harris March 19 at 5:44 PM
shane.harris@washpost.com
Susan Pompeo, the wife of Central Intelligence Agency Director Mike Pompeo, has taken an unusually active and prominent role at the organization, and has fashioned herself as an unofficial “first lady of the CIA,” according to people with knowledge of her activities.
Pompeo, who is a volunteer at the CIA, uses office space on the seventh-floor headquarters in Langley, Va., where senior leaders, including the director, have their offices. A support staff of CIA employees assists her in her duties, although that is not their full-time job. And Pompeo travels with her husband, who President Trump nominated last week to replace Rex Tillerson as secretary of state, including on trips he takes overseas to meet with foreign intelligence officials.
....
While it is not unheard of for directors’ spouses to take on volunteer work, particularly advocating for families, Susan Pompeo’s presence at the agency, along with her use of office space and help from staff, has raised questions internally about the nature of her duties and why agency resources are being used to support her, according to people who spoke on the condition of anonymity to talk about a sensitive subject.
The misuse of government travel and other perquisites of office has been a persistent issue in the Trump administration. But an agency spokesman said that all of Pompeo’s work and travel has been reviewed by appropriate agency authorities, and, when necessary, the Pompeo family has reimbursed the CIA. ... Pompeo does not control a budget and is not paid for her work, which is focused on her role as honorary chair of the Family Advisory Board, a group that includes the spouses and domestic partners of agency personnel and addresses quality-of-life issues and the needs of personnel stationed overseas, said Ryan Trapani, a CIA spokesman.
....
Julie Tate contributed to this report.
Shane Harris covers intelligence and national security for the Post. Follow @shaneharris
Susan Pompeo’s role as ‘first lady of the CIA’ draws critics and defenders
By Shane Harris March 19 at 5:44 PM
shane.harris@washpost.com
Susan Pompeo, the wife of Central Intelligence Agency Director Mike Pompeo, has taken an unusually active and prominent role at the organization, and has fashioned herself as an unofficial “first lady of the CIA,” according to people with knowledge of her activities.
Pompeo, who is a volunteer at the CIA, uses office space on the seventh-floor headquarters in Langley, Va., where senior leaders, including the director, have their offices. A support staff of CIA employees assists her in her duties, although that is not their full-time job. And Pompeo travels with her husband, who President Trump nominated last week to replace Rex Tillerson as secretary of state, including on trips he takes overseas to meet with foreign intelligence officials.
....
While it is not unheard of for directors’ spouses to take on volunteer work, particularly advocating for families, Susan Pompeo’s presence at the agency, along with her use of office space and help from staff, has raised questions internally about the nature of her duties and why agency resources are being used to support her, according to people who spoke on the condition of anonymity to talk about a sensitive subject.
The misuse of government travel and other perquisites of office has been a persistent issue in the Trump administration. But an agency spokesman said that all of Pompeo’s work and travel has been reviewed by appropriate agency authorities, and, when necessary, the Pompeo family has reimbursed the CIA. ... Pompeo does not control a budget and is not paid for her work, which is focused on her role as honorary chair of the Family Advisory Board, a group that includes the spouses and domestic partners of agency personnel and addresses quality-of-life issues and the needs of personnel stationed overseas, said Ryan Trapani, a CIA spokesman.
....
Julie Tate contributed to this report.
Shane Harris covers intelligence and national security for the Post. Follow @shaneharris
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